Try Something New
by MiDnIgHtHoUr77
Summary: Just a little AU thing a thought up a bit ago... Jane's at ANOTHER new school where she meets the residents of 'The Jungle.' Including Terk and Tantor re-imagined as people! Who may or may not be couple.. I can't decide... Anywhozzle, Archimedes now studies butterflies instead of gorillas. It'll be fun.
1. New Beginnings

**Even though my name may be Jane I sadly do not own Tarzan. Or Jane. Or anything Disney related. Except a park hopper pass that I kept becuase I love Disney... -cough cough imnotweirdipromise cough cough- anywayyyyys. To the story!**

**(By the way this is AU... In case you missed that. Yeaaaaa.)**

"Look, I know that you didn't want to move again, but it simply couldn't be helped. My research moved. You know how it is, Jane. You know I wouldn't move us around if I didn't absolutely have to." Jane listened to her father, the great Professor Archimedes Q. Porter like she hadn't heard this speech a million times. She loved her father, she really really did, and she loved his research almost as much as he did. However, she had figured out to hide her love for academics about five schools ago. That had been in fifth grade if she remembered her years and dates correctly. They'd still been in England then. It was their sixth year in the United States. She was now a legal United States Citizen, and yet she still proudly displayed her English accent with, what she hoped was, a dignified air.

"Daddy, I know. I'll be fine. C'mon, I'm going to be late for school now. Are you going to drive me or not? I have learned to drive, Daddy. I am capable of driving myself if you'd like." Her father's short face turned down ever so slightly, his green eyes losing a bit of their luster.

"Yes.. I suppose you can." The words were muffled now from being spoken from behind his rather poofy, white moustache. How her father had managed to go bald on top with white hair around his ears, a white moustache, and yet have grey eyebrows was beyond her.

"Of course, I'd still love it if you would drive me Daddy." She gave him one of her small smiles. The ones he'd told her made her look the most like her mother. Jane had inherited her mother's beautiful blue eyes, small nose, light brown, straight hair, and, according to her father, her mother's smile.

"Well then let's go! What are we waiting for?!" She giggled slightly as he high-knee marched to their new door, his skinny and hairy legs exposed.

"Daddy. Pants." She handed him his kahki pants still with a smile on her face. Her father could be forgetful, but that might be why she loved him as much as she did. She wouldn't have him any other way. She knew her mother dying had been kind of hard on him. She would often find him sitting on the couch, butterflies next to him, holding a picture of her. There would be tears in his eyes, but he would never cry, or at least he would never cry in front of her. Whenever he spoke about how they had met (It had been the end of her first day at a job in a coffee joint and she had spilled somebody's smoothie on him**. **After cleaning him up she'd been intrigued by the books he was carrying and the monarch butterfly he almost always carried around with him and they'd sat down to talk after her shift, and they just clicked.) and how she had saved him. He'd been depressed before then, living his life only to study dead butterflies. They had once been so beautiful to him, but he saw only death. Jane's mother had brought that beauty back into his life, and she had given him his greatest treasure: Jane.

"Right then. Pants. Shirt. Belt. Shoes. Car key. Bow tie. We're all set then yes? You have everything that you need with you?"

"Yes Daddy." His eccentricities had become more pronounced after her mother had died, but Jane didn't care. She'd loved her mother dearly, but in the ten years that it had been she'd come to terms with it. She was happy with just her father, her studies, and, most importantly, her sketch pad.

"Then we're off!" Driving to school on the first day was always an adventure with her father. He never really seemed to know where he was going and he always had to rely completely on the GPS that was, more often than not, completely wrong. Needless to say, Jane had learned how to read a map at a very young age. Once she was in front of the school her father was suddenly quiet. It was her first day as a junior in high school.

"Jane I..." He quietly looked down at his wringing hands placed in his lap. She knew better than to interrupt her father so she sat quietly. It wouldn't take him long to find whatever it was that he was going to try to say to her. "I just want you to know that I love you and you can talk to me about anything, OK?" He turned pleading green eyes on her then.

"Of course Daddy. I love you too." She leaned across the seat of his old jeep and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. I'll see you after school, OK? Right here? Three o'clock." She was talking to him through the open window of the passenger side now, as she stood on the pavement looking at her father in his jeep.

"Right-o!" And with that her father sped away from her. She shook her head with a smile playing at her lips. Taking a deep breath she turned to face her new school. It would be a jungle of unknown territory, but she could handle it. Quickly, she made sure that her boots were still tied. They were tan and went up her legs nearly to her knees. She always wore the same thing on the first day of a new school. Some representation of her mother's favorite color, yellow, her tan boots, and the pendant her father had given her which had saphirre dangling from it. He said it matched her eyes and he always wore his blue bow tie to the first day working with new people. Today Jane had donned a bright yellow dress that seemed to be the longest summer wear she could find. It reached her knees and had a habit of slipping off her right shoulder. Breathing deep once more she decided that she was brave enough to venture forth into her school. It would be fine.

**So yea. There's that. Tell me what you thought, honestly and truly, holding nothing back. Tell me if a character was off or something... even though there were only two... I promise Archimedes is going to be more Archimedes-like in future chapters. I just wanted to give him a little depth to start the story off interestingly. Soooo Happy Valentine's Day and all that jazz... Find a reason to smile every day :)**


	2. Chemistry

**Still don't own anything. I'm not that rich… Wish I was… Hey, where's MY fairy godmother huh? I deserve one! Maybe… I digress. Enjoy Chapter 2 of 'Try Something New' (hehe I made a rhyme)**

"Jane Porter? Yes, I was told that you would be joining our ranks today." She was sitting in the principal's office per the receptionist's orders. He was a large man, big and gruff with a face that seemed to drop down. His hair was as dark as the night sky and his low, deep voice sent vibrations through her sternum. His skin was dark as well. He was definitely intimidating in a dark suit with a silver tie. There was no mistaking the authority and power he carried around with him.

"Yes, sir." She managed to squeak out from beneath his imposing shadow. She hoped that he wasn't the head of the disciplinary committee. What would detention be like, she wondered, if this man ran them?

"My name is Kerchak. Mr. Kerchak. You may call me as such or sir as you did previously. You may not call me simply Kerchak. I am not here to be your friend. I am here to be your principal and make sure that your parent's tax dollars are being put to good use for your education." She swallowed carefully. She still hadn't looked him directly in the eye. It was an animal instinct she knew. Maintaining eye contact would be a symbol of aggression and would challenge his authority. She most DEFINITELY did NOT want to do ANY of that.

"Here is your schedule. You will be on time to your classes. If you are late more than twice you will serve a half hour detention. Open campus lunch is available to all juniors and seniors, but if you choose to leave you must be back in time for your next class. Any questions?" He slid a blue piece of paper straight across his immaculate desk towards her.

"What's the dress code here, sir?" She tried to keep her voice straight and without any tremble in it. He did not seem like the kind of man that looked highly open showing weakness.

"Yes. So long as it isn't offensive and isn't see-through it's allowed. Bottoms most be past your fingertips when you're standing up. The other students will help you with anything else. You are dismissed." With that, the gargantuan, imposing, slightly frightening man began to shuffle some more papers on his desk and didn't look back up at her until she was opening the door to leave. He called out to her just as she sneezed. The only way to describe one of her sneezes, she'd been told, was to listen to a baby kitten sneeze.

"And Miss Jane?" She paused momentarily and looked over her shoulder at her new principal. She fluffed her bangs and made sure that most of her hair was still in the bun she'd twisted it up into for the day.

"Yes, sir?" She saw a little twinkle in his eyes. A softness. That was when she noticed the silver band sparkling out at her from its place on his left hand, and a thin, black rubber bracelet.

"Good luck." He attempted a small smile at her and she marveled at how it changed his face.

"Thank you, sir." She returned his smile with one of her own. Crooked, just slightly and closed mouthed. Then she heaved open the thick wooden door.

"How'd it go, dear?" That was the receptionist again. She had dark skin, the same hue as Mr. Kerchak. Her dark eyes sparkled with kindness and motherly affection. Jane saw a thin, black rubber bracelet looped around her wrist as well.

"Fine. Can you tell me how to get to… Chemistry?" She looked down at the neatly typed out and organized schedule. She was in an art class. That was definitely good news. Last class of the day as well so she would always be in a good mood when she saw her father.

"Sure honey. My name's Kala, by the way. You just come on in here and ask for help with anything you need. Sometimes I help with the Guidance Counselor as well, so don't you hesitate to ask me for anything you need or want. Chemistry is right down this hallway right outside the office. Third door on your right. Mr. Blake should have a radioactive sticker on his door. All class doors have a sticker that helps new students to find which classroom is for what. Good luck dear! Have a nice day." Kala's voice was as smooth as honey to Jane. Not high-pitched like so many girls' voices, but lower and smoky. It was comforting.

"Thank you Kala." Again she was turning away from somebody and walking out the door. Once she was in the hallway she blinked at the bright, fluorescent lights overhead. Turning right she watched the doors until she found one with a radioactive sticker on the little window allowing her to look into the room. She knocked quietly before entering.

"Why hello there. Who are you? Are you lost or just late?" She was greeted with the sight of a tall woman in a lab coat and what looked like fifteen or so students gathered around a lab table near the back of the room. As if on cue all head snapped towards the door and all eyes were trained on Jane. The woman had safety goggles on, as did all of the students, and she was holding a clear Haribo gummy bear over a test tube filled with some sort of liquid.

"I'm sorry. I'm Jane Porter. I just transferred here. This is Chemistry?"

"Oh! They told me you were coming! Class, this is Jane. Jane, meet the class. Your seat is in the back. You'll be sitting next to Terk. Terk, help Miss Porter find her seat and then both of you hurry back here and get the lights on the way! The gummy gods are not appeased!" A girl around Jane's age came over to her. She had short, spiky, dark hair, which seemed to have a purple tint to it and she was wearing baggy jeans and a baggy hoodie. Both ears had three piercings and one of them had a chain going from the top of her lobe to the bottom. Carefully, and painfully aware of the clicks the small wedges of her boots made when she walked, Jane made her way over to the table Terk was standing next to.

"The gummy gods?" Jane asked quietly upon reaching the other teenager while the other students talked quietly amongst themselves.

"Ms. Davis just likes blowing gummy bears up. The perks of being in chemistry. Most people don't take it because the paperwork is hard, but we blow a lot of things up. I'm Terk by the way." Jane was surprised to find that the other girl's face was clean of makeup. From a distance she seemed like the type to have thick, black eye liner rimming her eyes, but her eyes didn't really need any accentuating. Her eyes were so dark Jane couldn't find a pupil in the middle, and her eyelashes were obscenely long and curly.

"I'm Jane. Jane Porter. Yes, I'm from England. I'm a legal citizen of the United States now though." She slid her bag off of her shoulder and onto the chair and put her binder and notebook on the desk, following Terk back to the back shelf to get her own pair of safety goggles hitting the light switch on the way.

"Get asked that a lot?" The other girl smirked.

"You have no idea." They both giggled while the teacher tried to quiet the class down to explain what the chemical was and why the gummy bear was now lit up like a firework and spewing sparks out of the test tube.

"What's your next class?" The demonstration was now over, the lights were back on and there was a mad rush in putting the safety goggles away.

"Looks like… P.E."

"Tough break. I'll see you at lunch though OK? You're cool, Jane. Besides finding a place to sit at lunch is always hard on the first day."

**Yay! We now have Kerchak. Kala, and Terk! Wanna know who's next? Huh? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya? Well I shan't spoil it! Happy reading lovelies!**


	3. Physical Education

**Heeeeeey guys… sorry it's been so long. There might've been digging around in my basement through some cobwebs so that I could find the VHS Tarzan so I was inspired… maybe… then again it could've just been in the cabinet the whole time… You'll never know! (dun dun DUUUUUUN!) Aaanyways, here's chapter three.**

Jane stood in some school issued short, grey athletic shorts and a maroon t-shirt before the gymnasium. She know understood where the school had gotten its nickname as 'The Jungle.' Where there were normally people milling around and talking before P.E. started there were people already getting a few feet up on the rock wall attached to the wall on her right, some were shooting baskets with basketballs from she didn't know where, and even a few girl just jogging laps on the floor. There wasn't a single person, it seemed, that had an ounce of body fat on them. Self-consciously she looked down and studied herself. Deciding that she wasn't fat she moved onto the hardwood floor and stood awkwardly, waiting for some semblance of a teacher to appear.

"You're new here, aren't you." Startled, she swung her head around, hopefully not hitting anybody with her ponytail to find a rather tall, muscular boy standing rather close to her. It hadn't been a question she realized.

"That obvious? I'm Jane Porter. Yes, I'm actually English, but I'm now an official U.S. citizen. Is everybody here so physically inclined?" She flicked a bit of her bangs out of her eye and looked up to his face.

"I'm Clayton. Yeah, pretty much. Our school is pretty known for it's athletic prowess. We even take a field trip to the zoo every year to see some gorillas. Our mascot, you know." He crossed his muscular arms, and she couldn't help but picture him with a shotgun strapped to his back leading an expedition or something. Blinking, she cleared the thought from her mind. Her father loved it when she came up with stories, it reminded him of her mother, but now didn't seem like a good time for such stories.

"Interesting." She gave him a small smile and then turned to survey the room again. There seemed to be a wide range of people here though the uniform seemed like a good leveler. Soon enough she saw what looked to be a teacher walk through the doorway, wearing a black tracksuit. Why did all gym teachers wear tracksuits?

"Alright gorillas! Time to get active. Give me five laps, and then you're free to do whatever you want so long as you're moving." He gave a long blow on his whistle and then everybody was running around the gym. After the third lap Jane was sure that her face was red and at the end of the fifth lap she was gasping for breath. Leaning against the wall she realized just how out of shape she was.

"Hi." Tilting her head up and focusing her eyes she was met with brown irises gazing back at her a bit closer than was really normal.

"Oh. Hello there." The owner of the brown eyes backed up a little and she saw that he had shoulder length dreadlocks the same color as his eyes and some rather muscular looking arms and legs. She brought her hand up to wave, ridiculously, and he brought his hand up to hers and pressed his palm to hers. He studied his tan, calloused hand pressed up against her soft, white one and she swallowed. This was interesting, but she couldn't deny that she liked the way his hand felt against hers.

"You look a little winded. How's your heart?" His voice was deep, like the principal's had been, but quieter. He had power, but he wasn't as imposing as Mr. Kerchak had been.

"Um…" He smiled at her and slid his hand around to her wrist, pressing his fingers to a vein to check her pulse.

"Wow." He brought her slender hand up to her chest and pressed it against her flesh until she could feel her rapid heartbeat through the shirt. Then, he took her hand and brought her hand to his chest and pressed her fingers against his rather solid chest to feel his low, steady heartbeat.

"Oh… um. Thank you. That's a lovely heartbeat." She cleared her throat as he finally released her hand and gave her another smile.

"Want a drink?"

"Get moving you two!" She turned her head to see the gym teacher pointing and yelling at her.

Without turning around the boy yelled back, "Sure. Drink." He put a steadying hand on her waist and began to lead her out of the hot room, not waiting to hear a response from the teacher. She still hadn't found her tongue, but then it didn't matter because she was guzzling water down from the drinking fountain he had led her to. When she finally came up for air, ready to go back to the gym she was met with another smile from the boy. He had stayed. Raising his arms, he pointed to himself.

"Tarzan." Then he pointed to her. When she didn't immediately respond he repeated the motion and the name.

"Oh, I see!" She cleared her throat while he smiled at her again. "Jane." She pointed to herself as she spoke her name and smiled at this new meeting. "Why did you show me your heartbeat? Why aren't you talking in full sentences? Why did you put your hand up against mine? I mean, I'm new here, but that seems like a strange greeting. Are you new here too? Are you…" He put two fingers up to her mouth and effectively stopped her talking.

"Throat hurts. Show difference. Just did. No." She put her hand up again and thought back to the questions she had asked and ticked off the answers one by one.

"Shall we return then?"

oOo

"And then I was flying, Daddy! Flying through the air! Oh, Daddy the rock wall is fun! Only with Tarzan though. He's… He walks around kind of hunched over like he isn't comfortable with his height and he's got dreadlocks! And these eyes. They're so brown and intense… I've never seen eyes like his…" She'd only just gotten home and was describing her day to her father as he often asked her to do. At some point she looked off past his head and started picturing Tarzan's eyes.

"Do I hear wedding bells?" He smiled at his daughter as she snapped back into the present moment with him, sitting in their living room on the only bit of furniture they'd managed to unpack, a tan couch.

"Oh, Daddy, stop it!" She laughed at him as she pulled her still damp hair into a bun.

"Continue, dear. Please. I love it when you tell me about your day." He smiled at her again, and bit back another apology about being late.

"Well, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful until the end there. School got out and I gathered everything all up together into my bag; said good-bye to Terk and Tantor, her boyfriend; avoided Clayton; and walked outside to sit on the steps. It seemed a little cloudy, but I wasn't too worried. You weren't there yet when I heard the thunder. I was just in the middle of thinking; this day can't get any worse, can it? Because that's what you think when it's about to rain and then it did so I spoke aloud, quite accidentally, obviously it can. And then the clouds opened up on all of us and Tarzan appeared out of nowhere with an umbrella. Then we waited for you to come to get me without talking since his throat hurt him today. And now, we're here. How about your day, Daddy?"

"Oh, nothing of interest. Just looking at some butterflies like everyday. Sorry for being late, darling. We should really get you your own car or something." She laughed just a bit and then the rest of the evening was spent unpacking the rest of the house and arranging furniture. They ate Chinese takeout at eight o'clock, and then Jane collapsed on her bed. Setting her alarm for six the next morning, she was asleep before she had chance to think about what tomorrow at 'the jungle' would bring.

**TA-DA! Hope you like it. Sorry Archimedes is kind of sadder in this than in the movie, but he's actually kind of hard to translate… Hopefully in chapter to come we'll see his happier side. TTFN. R&R lovelies!**


	4. Something New

**So sorry it's been so long. Been trying not to die while playing sixteenth note runs in band. Yay for playing the clarinet… Aaaaanyways. Here's another chapter of 'Try Something New.' P.S. I still don't own Tarzan.**

"So what do you say, Jane?" Clayton was advancing towards her as he spoke and she was trying very hard not to back up into a wall. "You. Me. Dinner. A movie." Oh, there was the wall. "Maybe a kiss goodnight." Clayton braced his hand on either side of her head, effectively trapping Jane.

"Well… you see, Clayton-"

"Hey, Jane!" She tried not to sigh with relief when she saw Terk barreling towards them through the hallway. Anger flashed through Clayton's eyes, but he pushed off the wall and walked away from the girl, in the opposite direction of her friend.

"Oh, Terk, you have the best timing in the world. Not to say that I wouldn't have minded you turning up just a little bit sooner. He asked me out on a date! And he cornered me to do so! Can you believe it?" Finally, she stopped to take a breath and Terk held a hand up to her.

"You're babbling again. You really need to work on that." It had been about a month since Jane had moved and she and Terk got along famously. "Studying at your house then?" Jane gratefully nodded at the other girl, and the two walked side-by-side out the doors of the school.

"Hey Terk! Hey Jane." That was Tantor. Terk's slightly overprotective, always friendly, very worried most of the time, boyfriend. Terk, Tantor, Jane and Tarzan all studied together. Most of the time. Generally it ended up with Terk and Tantor arguing about something completely unrelated to school and Jane helping Tarzan through his reading. Tarzan had dyslexia and ADHD, not unlike some people in a book she had once read, but Tarzan was just more of a physically active person than a book person. Jane's opposite, but she couldn't help but feel this pull towards him.

"Jane." This was Tarzan's greeting. She couldn't help but smile up at him as he helped her into his jeep. She rode shotgun, and the couple rode in the back. Once everybody was inside, Terk yelled at her childhood friend.

"To Jane's!" Tarzan, obligingly turned the engine on and started driving to Jane's house. She loved riding in his jeep with the top down. The wind blew through her hair and she felt good. She felt alive, especially with Tarzan sitting next to her. She felt like she was flying, and she loved flying. When they reached her house, the four scrambled out of the vehicle and into the abode.

"Daddy! You're home! Meet my friends, Terk, Tantor and Tarzan." She pointed to each of her friends as she spoke their name. Strange as it was, this was her father's first time meeting any of her friends. He was almost always at his research facility while the four of them studied or were at school. She twisted her hair up into a bun and stuck a pencil through it.

"Hello." This from Tarzan, a man of few words. Terk started talking about herself and other random things and Mr. Porter listened attentively. Tantor pulled out a chair and sat with his girlfriend while Jane and Tarzan walked into the den and settled into the couch. Before she said a word, she looked up and got trapped within his intense eyes. She'd never seen eyes like his before, and they were trained on hers. He held up a hand and she met his with hers without fully knowing why. It just felt good to be able to touch him, to feel his rough hand pressed against her own smooth hand. Without breaking eye contact, he reached around behind him and turned the radio on. They both hated complete silence.

"Whatever you do. I'll do it too. Show me everything and tell me how. It all means something and yet nothing to me." It was a Phil Collins song. She loved this song and she imagined herself telling Tarzan the next verse.

"I can see there's so much to learn. It's all so close and yet so far. I see myself as people see me. Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there." It did hit a strangely close nerve within her. She wanted to go on grand adventures, but she sometimes felt small and feminine. How the rest of the world tended to see her. The chorus played and her father called her upstairs. Terk replaced her in the den with Tarzan. He just trained his eyes on her as the next verse came on. He mouthed the words, asking a silent question of his friend.

"Every gesture, ever move that she makes, makes me feel like never before. Why do I have this growing need to be beside her?" The girl with the spiky hair just shook her head and gestured for him to follow her up the stairs, the music echoing inside his head. _These emotions, I never knew of some other world far beyond this place. Beyond the trees, above the clouds, I see before me a new horizon. _

"Daddy thought I should show you my paintings before we studied, since I've never shown any of you before."

"I suggested it!" Terk proclaimed proudly. Jane blushed and led the three of them quietly to another room in the house. Her father had returned to his research. She took a deep breath and faced them, searching their eyes.

"Are you sure you want to see this? It's kind of like my own little world, but other people might not like it…" Before Terk could talk, loudly, again, Tarzan stepped forward and put his head on top of hers, helping her turn the doorknob. Stepping inside, the three teenagers caught their breath. Jungle landscapes jumped out at them from every wall; so realistic that Tantor jumped and slightly screamed when he saw leopard eyes peering out at him from a tree limb. Tarzan had never seen anything so beautiful, even in his dreams. Without thinking, he reached out and ensnared Jane's hand in his. He loved touching her hand, and holding it was ten times better. She didn't protest. She only moved closer to his side, folding into his curves; revealing to him a spot he hadn't known needed filling. She looked up at him and trapped him within her eyes. He hadn't known eyes like hers existed. That was when he realized Terk and Tantor had left.

"Tarzan?" He made a sound in the back of his throat, to let her know that he had heard.

"Why don't we ever go to your house?" Immediately, his eyes changed. Became darker, but he didn't let go of her.

"Kerchak is my father. Not my real one. A man named Sabor came to the school one day and shot a classroom. My parents were both in there and so was their son. I was about his age and they took me in. Kerchak doesn't always treat me like a son though. I know I can never replace him." She said nothing as she took this in. To live like that, grow up like that. Trying to find where you belong and who you were was hard enough with parents, who loved you and supported you, but to try and do that with a father who didn't think of you as his son? She couldn't imagine it. She couldn't say anything. She just turned and buried her face into his chest, throwing her arms up around his neck. She felt him hesitate for a moment, but then his arms surrounded her, one hand going up and knocking her bun loose, his fingers entangling in her light brown hair, his head bending down and his face burrowing into her neck. She breathed in his scent and relaxed into his embrace.

"Jane." It came out low and rough, muffled by her hair. And then another voice echoed his. Another low and rough voice, but this one was un-muffled and this one was growling.

"Jane." Her head snapped up and back, not stepping out of Tarzan's embrace, but she wasn't as close as she had been moments ago.

"Clayton." At this Tarzan backed away from Jane, releasing her, only to step in front of her, protective.

"Jane! I tried to warn you! And I tried to stop him! But you were in your own little world!" Terk was calling from the arms of Tantor, protecting her from the rather large, angry looking boy in front of him.

"What's this?" He was still growling.

"Clayton, what are you doing here? How do you know where I live?"

"Followed you, to keep talking about that date." She felt Tarzan tense at the word date, and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, unsure of what to do.

"Clayton, I don't want to go on a date with you, and it's rather creepy that you followed me." Tarzan relaxed for a moment, and then tensed again as the anger flickered in the other boy's eyes.

"You'll regret that." And then he turned and walked away. Nobody said anything for a moment and then they went downstairs and back into the den. The only thing different about today from yesterday was Jane and Tarzan sitting much closer.

_No. No. No. Not again. No!_ Tarzan ran through the halls, ignoring anybody who tried to stop him. He'd heard the shots and he knew who it was. Jane. He had to get to Jane. She might scared or hurt or… No. He couldn't think about what she might be. He just had to get to her.

"She's in the office!" It was Terk, his best friend. She seemed fine and Tantor was standing beside her, out of breath. It was the one class they didn't have together. _The office? Kala! Kerchak! No!_ He ran faster then he thought he could. He saw what he knew he'd seen, what he'd hoped he wouldn't see. Jane, standing still, in front of Kerchak's prone body, a blossom of red on his chest, in at the business end of an old hunting rifle. Kala was kneeling beside her husband. Without thinking about the consequences, Tarzan flung himself at Clayton with a primal yell. The boys wrestled on the ground until the police arrived and ripped them apart. Tarzan was bleeding and bruised but no worse than Clayton was. EMT's took Kerchak away, but not before he got a few words out behind the oxygen mask.

"Take care of our family, my son. Take care of her."

"Kerchak…" Jane sat helplessly as the police asked the two of them questions and then left. Tarzan was kneeling on the ground, near his father's blood, holding his head in his hands.

"Tarzan…" Cautiously she knelt in front of him and gingerly she touched his shoulder. He sat as still as stone.

"I couldn't protect him. I couldn't protect you."

"But, Tarzan. I'm not hurt." His head snapped up, dark eyes assessing her face, her body, realizing that the blood smeared on her forehead wasn't her own. Hurriedly, she wiped it off, showing that she was fine. "You did protect me. You came just in time, and you fought off Clayton, which looked rather impressive. I couldn't tell who was who for a little bit there and I heard punching but I wasn't sure if it was good or bad or who was winning. I just called the police as soon as I could. Aren't you glad they showed up? Oh, I wonder what's going to happen to Clay-" He had put a single finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Jane."

"Ok."

"School is being dismissed for the day. You two can go now." Some teacher walked into the office and told the pair. Tarzan stood first, and helped Jane to her feet. Together they walked out of the school, together they saw Terk and Tantor drive away in Tantor's car, and together they drove to Jane's home.

"Daddy? Are you home?"

"Jane! Oh, I was so worried! I heard there were shots fired at the school. Are you quite alright?" He crushed her in a hug with his frail looking arms. "Oh, Tarzan. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Daddy. We're both quite alright." She gave him a comforting smile. "I'll tell you about it in a bit. Tarzan, will you go into the den and set up? I'll be there in a jif." Tarzan walked away silently and Jane turned to her father and told him the whole story.

"So that's that then."

"Well, Jane, I always knew that you'd be beautiful, just like your mother, but I had absolutely no idea anything like that could ever happen."

"Oh, I wonder what was wrong with him. Maybe he was obsessive and that's what set him off? And poor Tarzan." Her father studied her for a moment and then smiled beneath his bushy, white mustache.

"You love him."

"What? Oh, Daddy don't. He's been through too much. I couldn't possibly-" She began wringing her hands, for once lost for words.

"Jane, go on then."

"But Daddy, I've only just met him!"

"I'd known your mother for all of twenty minutes before I knew I loved her. Go on, dear. I'll be at the research facility. I'm very glad that you weren't hurt today." He gave her another smile and then walked out the door, a new spring in his step, mumbling something about butterflies and the possibility of recognizing others. She sighed and wondered what in the world she was supposed to do.

"Jane." She hadn't heard Tarzan walk back to her from the den. She turned in her chair and looked at him, standing there about as stoic as he always had. There was a small dot of red poking through the bandage around his forehead, an identical bandage around his bicep. He seemed to be assessing her, wondering if there was something wrong with her. Without letting herself think she bolted out of the chair and into his arms; she took him by surprise and as her lips crashed into his, the two of them crashed to the ground. After a second, she realized what she was doing and sat back.

"Oh, um, thanks for protecting me." He blinked and smiled down at her and her blush. Reaching forward he cupped her face with both of his hands. "Thank you. Tha-" He brought her face to his and kissed her again. She moved forward and onto his stomach, eye closed and feeling her way forward. He helped her lay down on top of him and kept her from rolling off, kissing the whole way. All of a sudden she was sure that this was only the first kiss of many.

**Well, I have no idea how the title is even slightly relevant, but I think it kind of fits in a weird sort of way. There you have it. FINITO!**


End file.
